HI Courier The local community newspaper for Histon and Impington
Helping Haiti
REC GRANT
Impington Toad Rescue Volunteers, Local Government and Business Work Together to Solve Problem
It started Friday evening 19th March. First there were a few. Then the migration began in full. The toads marched out of Impington woodland areas heading for their spawning lakes adjacent to the Holiday Inn. Halfway along their path stood an unexpected obstacle - the new Guided Busway track - the toad equivalent of the Great Wall of China. Had it not been for Anita Joysey the scene would have been tragic - thousands would have died from dehydration and predator attacks. It now appears that Impington is home to an exceptional colony of common toads (Bufo bufo) as defined by the Natural Environment and Rural Community Act 2006. The common toad is a true gardeners friend living on a diet of slugs, and insects. So far, over 3000 have been rescued, checked and counted. Anita Joysey and Dave Seilly found the first wave of migration early Saturday 20 March and rescued 701 toads. They carefully collected them from the sides of the busway where the exhausted animals had been trying to find a way around the endless track then gently carried them into the lake in large buckets. Then they spread the word that more were likely to come. It's this time of year when toads are on the move from their winter hibernation shelter to spawn in nearby lakes. Like salmon they return to the place of their birth to produce the next generation. Any stress is dangerous as they have limited energy resources. They will not eat from the time they went into hibernation in October until they return from spawning in mid April. Upon hearing the news, Impington parish council sprang into action alerting councillors at District and County level. Last year a far smaller migration left many toads crushed by
Busway construction vehicles. Parish, District and County councillors were determined to avoid a repeat of that incident. Soon help began to show up as Anita and her crew of volunteers collected stranded toads each morning. Dave Haxton, a representative from Atkins, the engineering firm that is acting as project manager for the Busway project, arrived bright and early Monday morning to see what could be done. Last year a temporary toad fence was erected to prevent additional carnage as toads strayed onto the path of Busway construction traffic. This needed repair. Pitfall traps that had been used last year to safely catch and hold toads for short periods needed to be installed. Atkins moved swiftly to assist, sending several staff and ecologists to help Anita with the morning and evening rescue efforts. William Seale from Madingly Toad Rescue told the HI Courier that this is a Biodiversity Action Plan issue. The number of common toads, in spite of their name, are dwindling as development and habitat removal increases. Impington now appears to be a site of significant interest. William has been working for over 20 years to rescue toads and provide safe and stable habitats for them. Toads emerge from hibernation on land in late February or early March and complete the migration back to the lake where they started the previous autumn. Once there, mating and egg laying occur over a brief period in March and April. The adult toads then leave the lake and head back to the land needing, once again, to cross the Busway track on the way. They live in the woodland for the remainder of the year, entering hibernation again in late September or
Anita Joysey tirelessly rescuing thousands of toads
April 2010 Issue 10 www.HIcourier.co.uk FREE
STARS in their Eyes
Village 'Question Time' to Meet Candidate MPs Your chance to ask questions of prospective MPs is coming to IVC on 27 April at 7:30 pm. In a 'question time' styled format, candidates will be asked your questions. Organised by climate change group HICCA, questions will cover the environment, jobs, education, transportation, and many other issues. You can ask questions on the night, or by emailing them to elaine.farrell@woozles.org.uk Candidates and representatives from the four major parties have already accepted the invitation. Elaine Farrell, organiser of the event, said: "Geoffrey Woollard, Independent, is not able to come and Andy Monk (UKIP) may join us. Registering closes on 8th April so until this date we do not know for definite who the candidates are. All registered will be invited to join us." In spite of, or more correctly because of, the recent expenses scandal it is imperative that each and every eligible voter in the village gets out to vote. Please join your neighbours at IVC on 27th April 7:30pm.
Busway is a barrier
Gently placing in lake
Nowhere to go!
early October. Several permanent toad tunnels will be needed to allow this two way access between the woodland and lake. County council has assured us that they will begin construction when they officially take control of the northern section of the Guided Busway. Tunnels of the sort needed can be built after the
fact while the busway is in operation. Until that happens mitigation efforts and daily toad rescues will be needed for the few weeks of back and forth migration that occur in March and late July. What could have been a disaster has been avoided by the cooperation at all levels - parish, district, and county
councils, Atkins, and most of all by Anita Joysey and her volunteers. To Anita and everyone else, our hats off and 'well done'. The HI Courier will be watching and reporting as this story develops over coming months. For the latest, and for a gallery of photos, visit www.HIcourier.co.uk
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